Fox Sports hires Michael Vick to be a studio analyst

Michael Vick has accepted a spot at Fox Sports as an NFL analyst. (AP)

Who could have imagined about eight years ago that Mike Vick would end up as an NFL studio analyst for a major network?

According to USA Today, Vick has been hired by Fox Sports to be an analyst on its “Fox NFL Kickoff” pregame studio show which leads into its popular “Fox NFL Sunday.”

“I’m very excited,” Vick told USA Today. “Over the last seven or eight months, I’ve done a lot of interviews, and I think I’ve gotten better as I’ve been put in those situations more often.”

One of his more noteworthy moments during the past couple months was saying Colin Kaepernick needed to cut his Afro to get signed by an NFL team. He was roundly criticized for that and almost immediately backtracked.

Overall, Vick has done a remarkable job rebuilding his image. He served 18 months in federal prison for participating in a dogfighting ring. When he was released from prison in 2009 he was a villain to many people. Some still were boycotting Vick when the Steelers signed him in 2015. It was unclear when Vick got out of prison how many more chances he’d get to play in the NFL, much less have a prominent job in football after his retirement. Vick played for three more teams through the 2015 season, then finally officially announced his retirement this season. Vick spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs as a coaching intern this summer, but apparently has decided to go into broadcasting instead.

In the USA Today story, Fox Sports president of production and executive producer John Entz is quoted saying Vick “has an incredibly bright future as an analyst.” He might. Kaepernick faux pas aside, Vick has given some tremendous interviews the past few years as he reflected on the ups and downs of his career.

No matter what, Fox couldn’t have hired anyone who has seen more through his football journey than Vick.